Bakken Formation - 19 of 21

Bakken Formation FAQs - 21 Found

The USGS estimates that there may be 4.4 to 11.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation (with a mean estimate of 7.4 billion barrels). These are estimates of oil that has yet to be found, but if found, could be produced using currently available technology and industry practices. However, there is no way to know how much oil is in the Bakken Formation or any formation until the area is actually drilled and produced.

These USGS estimates are made using the best available information at the time, including data from state agencies, academia, and industry sources who are actively producing oil from the Bakken now. The USGS uses a consistent, peer-reviewed methodology, so our estimates are comparable, and our methodology is published, so people know what we did. Our assessment methodology can be found on-line.